Not so long ago we were hosting Glimpse at Sound Revolt, thanks to his very nice mix for the Four:Twenty label, and now we meet with him again for a quite significant occasion, as he has just released his debut album on London’s Crosstown Rebels imprint.
I will start with a little digression. I read an interview once with one of the producers who was working with Notorious B.I.G. on his ‘Life After Death’ album. He said that he could tell which tracks Biggie recorded while standing, and which ones when he was sitting (for some, the rapper was in a wheelchair following a car accident), because in the first case more energy can be felt. I mention this because the aforesaid producer would probably like Glimpse’s working ethics, as he usually creates music standing up, improvising on his old-school hang-on-the-wall synthesizers and using analogue drum machines. He tries to narrow down working with the computer to minimum, mostly for the final editing stage. By no means do I claim I can pick up in which position the given album was recorded, but there is no way to overlook that Glimpse’s album is certainly not deficient in energy. ‘Runner’ is pulsing with a swinging, organic groove, filled with lots of warm, jazzy keys and vocal samples, which is able to draw you in very quickly, although it is mainly built on the basis of the uninvasive sounds of smooth deep and tech house, with emphasis on the deep. Glimpse also flirts with ethnic vibes, but while ‘Alone Again’ excellently blends into the idly cradling beginning of the album, the unfortunately opening, marimba-driven ‘Walk Tall’ doesn’t fit totally well in the context of the album as a whole, in my opinion. Its character would have worked out better surrounded by recent productions from Cadenza’s catalogue. The ending, though, does much better, namely the beatless, ambient ‘Train in Austria’, which is a homage to Tangerine Dream and their ‘Love on a Real Train’.
Without a doubt ‘Runner’ is a proper debut, fitting well into the current tendencies dominating the house scene. Christopher Spero reassures us that he clearly knows his job in the studio, and he is one of those young producers whose further career progress is worth following.
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